The political thoughts and opinions of a pragmatic Canadian Libertarian Economist. Do not mistake me for a real journalist, this is just one man's opinion.

Sunday, July 3, 2011

Prince William Canada's Next Head Of State?

Today's poll question; would you like Prince William to be Canada's next head of state? In December 2010 I asked if you thought Prince William would make a good head of state, and only 53% answered yes. I'm curious to know if your opinion has changed in the last 7 months, though this time I'm asking a slightly different question. I will be voting no to the poll question because I prefer to recognize my elected Prime Minister as head of state rather than a hereditary monarchy. That being said, I respect William on a personal level and would certainly choose him for head of state over his father Charles. I'm sure if I asked the question "who would you rather have as Canada's head of state: Prince William, Prince Charles, or Stephen Harper" that our PM would win by a large margin.

DO YOU THINK THAT PRINCE WILLIAM WOULD BE A GOOD HEAD OF STATE FOR CANADA?(from Dec 2010)

I wrote my MP when Jean was about to be punted, and suggested that Prince William be offered the job. Both he and his father had mused openly at various times about assuming the GG role in Australia, so why not Canada?

Oh, I forgot...Ottawa winters. That's why it won't happen. But there are some upsides as well: when the Royal couple starts a family, being in Ottawa could offer them a much greater level of privacy from the media than being in the UK. The proximity of a Royal in an official capacity to the USA might also help Anglo-Canadian-Yank relations, in that they would get a lot more media coverage down south.

Folks, there is a HUGE difference between Governor General, and Head of State. The Head of State of the Dominion of Canada is Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. Her son, the Crown Prince will be the next HoS, unless he pre-deceases Prince William. The Governor General is a Vice-Regal position and the Queen's representative in Canada, NOT the Head of State.

If Prince William were made GG, he would not be the Head of State unless there had been two state funerals in Britain (HM QEII, and HRH Prince Charles).

Assuming that the GG is Canada's HoS is a common error that merely reflects the poor job we do in schooling our children in the Who's Who of Canadian Government.

So really the argument is pointless. HRH Prince William WILL be the HoS for Canada unless he dies too soon.

I don't recognize any authority other than that granted by the citizenry of any given state or country.In my books all men are created equal and there is no "royalty".I find having a monarch abhorrent.

I have always known who our head of state is. I understood the question to be, who would you like to be the representative of the head of state in Canada. If the choice is between some gal who worked at the cbc, or the Duke, I pick the Duke.There was a story that our current GG is unknown, but I thought he was very dignified on July 1st, as he was when reading the Speech from the Throne. He did not have to get married to accept the post as Adrienne did, and he did not have to wear a phony uniform as his predecessor did.

The system we have with a constitutional Monarchy is probalbly the best on the face of the earth! Heredity or not it provides a continuity that is required. The Monarchy is a non-partasan bridge that keeps us from civil war. That is the long an short of it. Having said that I would prefer William to Charles anyday as Charles is a TWIT!

For me , I want the monarchy to continue in it's current restricted role as defined by us all through parliament and tradition. As someone said in an earlier post. "If it ain't broke then don't fix it."